HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

299

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

CONGRATULATING AND COMMENDING THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, a Component of the papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, ON ITS Centennial CELEBRATION.

 

 

            WHEREAS, 2009 marks the 100th anniversary of The Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge—Hawaii's oldest national wildlife refuge protecting and preserving the fragile ocean ecosystems of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands; and

 

     WHEREAS, THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, established in 1909 by Theodore Roosevelt's Executive Order 1019, consists of a chain of islands, reefs, and atolls, including Nihoa, Necker, French Frigate Shoals, Gardner Pinnacles, Maro Reef, Laysan Island, Lisianski Island, and Pearl and Hermes Reef; and

 

WHEREAS, for 100 years, the US has taken steps to protect the priceless treasures of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands through laws, rules, regulations, and designations implemented by the State of Hawaii and six U.S. presidents, which have protected both terrestrial and marine environment; and

 

     WHEREAS, Nihoa Island and Mokumanamana--both are on the National Registry of Historic Places--are recognized for their rich cultural heritage, and some of the densest concentrations of pre-historical structural sites in Hawaii are located on these islands: the Nihoa sites include house terraces, burial caves, and agricultural terraces and may have had as many as 175 Native Hawaiians living there and the native Hawaiian sites on Mokumanamana are believed to date from before the 13th century A.D., and was primarily used for religious purposes; and

 

     WHEREAS, the many small islands of THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE provide grass, sand, and wetland habitat for over 30 species and 14 million breeding sea birds, wintering shorebirds, and endangered endemic landbirds; and

     WHEREAS, the islands and reefs also provide breeding and foraging habitat for the endangered Hawaiian monk seal and the threatened Hawaiian green turtle; and

    

     WHEREAS, the over 1,805,403 acres of submerged coral reefs of the monument, are co-managed by the State of Hawaii and two federal partners, and are home to over 7,000 species of coral, algae, mollusks, fish, crustaceans, and other marine vertebrates and invertebrates; and

 

     WHEREAS, THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE is part of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, established in 2006 and the 139,797 square mile monument is the largest fully protected marine conservation area in the world; and

 

     WHEREAS, THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE is managed in accordance with the National Refuge System Improvement Act and is Co-Managed under the proclamation that established the monument in close coordination with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the State of Hawaii; now, therefore,

    

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, that this body hereby proclaims its strong support for the continuation of THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, congratulates them on the momentous occasion of its 100th anniversary, and thanks the many conservation workers who provide stewardship for this precious resource for the people of Hawaii and future generations.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE